Former F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone feels that Kimi Raikomen was the last driver to not behave like a robot on the F1 grid.
Throughout his F1 career, 2007 F1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen was famous for his choice of language when speaking in the media and in team PR activities. Raikkonen, who has no interest in anything other than racing, gained popularity under the nickname “Iceman.”
In recent years, F1 drivers have been receiving more and more media training, but Kimi Raikkonen has made clear his position that he is not enthusiastic about media work.
Bernie Ecclestone loved Kimi Raikkonen’s honest and candid personality.
“You are a super guy as a person,” Bernie Ecclestone told sport1.de.
“As a driver, he’s a race driver. He’s the driver you want. He races and doesn’t pay much attention to people’s interests. In fact, he gives them his opinion.”
91-year-old Bernie Ecclestone feels that there is no other driver like “Otzi” on the F1 grid today and thinks it’s a problem for F1.
“I don’t think there are any more drivers like you today. That’s the problem,” continued Bernie Ecclestone.
“They all became robots, listening to what they were told and doing what they thought was right, rather than doing what they thought was right.”
It is very unclear what Kimi Raikkonen will do next. After leaving the F1 grid at the end of the 2021 campaign, he hasn’t signed up for another racing series in 2022.
What seems certain is that you will never see Kimi Raikkonen at any of the 2022 Grand Prix. Raikkonen says he will never go to the F1 paddock again.
When asked if he missed leaving F1, Kimi Raikkonen told BILD, “I’ll know over time.”
“I already know that the only thing I liked was driving! You might never step into the paddock again. F1 isn’t my life. More for me. There was always something important, nothing changed about it. “
“I didn’t quit because I wasn’t strong, because I had more to do than sit on a plane and stay at a hotel.”
When asked about his excitement, Kimi Raikkonen said, “It’s time to rest, otherwise we only had summer vacation.”
“I had to continue training for two and a half weeks, and it was always deep in my heart that normal madness would return after that.”
Category: Category: F1 / Kimi Raikkonen / Bernie Ecclestone